Metroid

If I say this is the best time to be a fan of Metroid in over a decade, that says as much about what is happening right now as it does the last 10 years. Despite the series serving as the inspiration for many successful games, it no longer seemed like a priority for Nintendo. Metroid, in spite of its critical success and cult following, has never been as big of a seller as the company’s other mainstays, and its future had long been uncertain. They had not released a new, mainline game since the generally disliked Metroid: Other M came out on the Wii in 2010, 11 years and two consoles ago. However, in October, Metroid Dread was released, and while it is not a major step forward for the series, it is nevertheless a delight to play, a worthy addition to the Metroid canon, and a reminder that few of the franchise’s imitators can match these games' original magic.

This is easily the release of Metroid Dread. I devoured it in a single weekend and quickly went back to previous installments, not eager to leave the spell these games cast.

In recent years, a spate of popular and acclaimed Metroidvanias have been released while the Metroid series, an obvious and major inspiration for these games, has lain dormant. With Metroid Dread out now, there is no better time for fans of the series’ imitators to explore what made so many later developers attempt to capture the magic of classics such as Super Metroid. Also, Metroid Dread seems to be selling much better than its predecessors, while also boosting sales of previous installments on the Wii U and 3DS. With another new game, Metroid Prime 4, in development now, the future looks brighter than it has in a very long time, and fans can only hope that they will be given many more opportunities to explore strange planets as their favorite bounty hunter very soon.